FMC (NYSE:FMC) Shares Up 7% on Strong Earnings

FMC Co. (NYSE:FMC)’s share price was up 7% on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $65.38 and last traded at $65.23. Approximately 585,349 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 1,910,481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.98.

The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $918.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. FMC had a net margin of 29.45% and a return on equity of 12.98%. FMC’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS.

FMC Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. FMC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on FMC. BNP Paribas cut shares of FMC from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of FMC from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on FMC from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on FMC in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised FMC from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FMC has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Sandifer bought 2,150 shares of FMC stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.22 per share, with a total value of $127,323.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 50,088 shares in the company, valued at $2,966,211.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH boosted its position in FMC by 67.3% during the fourth quarter. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH now owns 118,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,473,000 after acquiring an additional 47,697 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of FMC by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 115,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,262,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in FMC by 37.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,764,469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $118,166,000 after purchasing an additional 484,500 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in FMC by 15.4% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 14,195 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $950,000 after buying an additional 1,889 shares during the period. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in FMC during the third quarter worth about $664,000. 91.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FMC Stock Down 2.9 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a PE ratio of 6.16, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.88.

About FMC

FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company, provides crop protection, plant health, and professional pest and turf management products. It develops, markets, and sells crop protection chemicals that includes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides; and biologicals, crop nutrition, and seed treatment products, which are used in agriculture to enhance crop yield and quality by controlling a range of insects, weeds, and diseases, as well as in non-agricultural markets for pest control.